Inside The Chart: Hammer Down

Hammer Down: Inside the helmet stickers that pay respect to Georgia Tech’s ultimate special teamers – while also paying tribute to the Yellow Jackets’ past

Inside The Chart | By Andy Demetra (The Voice of the Yellow Jackets)

Let’s talk about the new piece of equipment that Georgia Tech debuted on special teams during its season opener against Colorado.

Uh, not that one.

Eric Rivers’ No. 43 punt return jersey may be mercifully mothballed, but the Yellow Jackets quietly unveiled another accoutrement in Boulder that night. Odds are you didn’t even notice it. But they have quickly become a source of pride, a connection to Tech’s past and a mission statement, all wrapped in a small, circular decal two inches in diameter.

“When you see that sticker, it’s niche. But everybody wants to be a part of it now,” said redshirt senior running back Daylon Gordon.

Coaches everywhere preach the importance of special teams. But getting players to buy in to their role on special teams can be … an uphill battle. Aside from returners, the job isn’t flush with glory or glamor.

But head coach Brent Key wanted to recognize those selfless, fearless players who start on at least two of the Yellow Jackets’ “core four” special teams units (kickoff, kick-return defense, punt and punt-return defense). Midway through training camp, Key, special teams coordinator Tim Salem and senior strategist for special teams and game management Brendan Farrell bunkered down in Key’s office and batted around some ideas.

“Over the decades, all these teams all over the country have had some unique thing for special teams to make it ‘special,’” said Salem, a 40-year coaching veteran.

“Coach Key wanted to do something to keep these guys motivated.”

Their idea? A pair of helmet stickers, one for players who start on multiple special teams units, and one for players who start on all four.

They didn’t want a logo that would be generic or derivative. That would defeat the purpose. They also wanted something that would capture the ruggedness and toughness of their special teamers.

“We said let’s go back and make it historical to our origin of our program, of this institution, that had some relation or bearing back to it, and not just some other name that came out of the middle of nowhere,” Salem explained.

Farrell reached into the past for inspiration. Beginning in 1900, before the Yellow Jackets or Golden Tornadoes, Georgia Tech’s football teams were known as the “Blacksmiths” as a nod to a foundry the school operated on campus to teach students blacksmithing and how to cast metals.

Farrell’s suggestion stuck, and a new identity was forged.

Players who start on two special teams units are now known as “Blacksmiths,” with an accompanying decal on the back left of their helmet. The sticker features the silhouette of a blacksmith, a gold interlocking GT on his apron, rearing back to strike an anvil. Players who start on all four units are known as the “Hammers,” with an additional decal of a sledgehammer on the back right of their helmet.

Salem unveiled the “Blacksmiths” and “Hammers” at a special teams meeting the night before the Colorado game, complete with a history lesson on Tech’s former nickname.

“It did mean a lot. We were getting recognized for the hard work we were putting in, but also what we were doing for the team. It was awesome to get recognized for that,” said redshirt sophomore defensive back Will Kiker.

Gordon, Kiker and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chris Elko are the only players currently wearing a Hammer sticker, though Gordon says they’re eager to add more members. Ten other players suited up for the Gardner-Webb game with a Blacksmith sticker.

According to Gordon, the imagery fits.

“You’re basically laying the hammer. You’re laying the law every time you go out there on special teams,” the Eastman, Ga., native laughed.

The man known as “Turbo” for his constantly on-the-go nature agrees.

“If they were back here in 1893, Georgia Tech would be proud,” Salem said of his Blacksmiths.

“It’s truly the nuts and bolts and the guys that want to play, love to play, do it anywhere, anytime,” he added.

“You just run down the field and want to try to splatter your body, trying to get off the damn block, then make a tackle [when] the guy is running full speed at you the other way. It’s a different kind of player.”

Tech’s coaches have given other perks to the Hammers. They fly first class for road games. They stay in single suites at the team hotel if they’re available. They’re the first to eat at team meals.

The stickers may be a small gesture, but they’re a sign of respect that Tech’s coaches believe can have a ripple effect throughout the locker room.

“I feel like other teammates will also want to be at that point and strive to get there. It pushes other people, and it sets us up as leaders too,” Kiker said.

For Kiker, one of Tech’s strongest pound-for-pound players who earned Special Teams Player of the Game honors for his performance against Gardner-Webb, the stickers not only represent a piece of Georgia Tech’s past, but his own past as well. At Gilmer County High School in Ellijay, Ga., he helped build ramps for the trailers his school used to haul horses and pigs for agricultural competitions. He’s done his fair share of welding, plasma cutting, metal mending and firing of acetylene torches over the years.

The Blacksmiths, Hammers and rest of Georgia Tech’s special teamers showed their prowess in the Yellow Jackets’ 59-12 win over Gardner-Webb last Saturday. In addition to holding the Runnin’ Bulldogs to 11.3 yards per kick return, the Jackets blocked an extra point (the ensuing Kiker defensive two-point conversion was wiped out by an inadvertent whistle) and returned a blocked field goal 65 yards for a touchdown.

Will Kiker’s return of a blocked two-point conversion was wiped out by an inadvertent whistle last Saturday vs. Gardner-Webb (Danny Karnik photo)

Like any good blacksmith, they’ll try to strike while the iron is hot when they face No. 12 Clemson in a highly anticipated matchup at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (12:00 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network).

The Yellow Jackets will line up for the opening kickoff just past noon. When they do, they won’t come alone.

Just look for the cavalry of sledgehammer-wielding blacksmiths joining them.